


Flour, sugar, fat

by canadino



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Baking, Gen, this is just juza enjoying making things he likes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:41:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24891757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadino/pseuds/canadino
Summary: Juza takes up the mantle of cake maker.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	Flour, sugar, fat

Hyodo Juza had to admit he was a pretty happy boy. It was hard to think of himself as an adult, as he was still in school and school was where kids went, but he was feeling quite fulfilled at his young age. He’d found acting, a passion that improved him and that he wanted very much to throw himself into, and companions to share this passion with. He finished high school with real friends when he’d started it resigned to graduating in solitude. Most importantly, communal living meant expanding the scope of his sweets radar: the salarymen went on business trips and bought souvenirs from cities he had no reason to travel to on his own, the adults had disposable income to try new things without needing to budget for school supplies, and Omi - blessed Omi, sent from the candy floss clouds Omi - loved challenging himself and expanding his recipe repertoire. Communal living meant many more birthdays to celebrate, and birthdays meant birthday cake. At home, mother and father both liked strawberry cake, which was delicious in its own right, and Kumon liked fruit tarts, and they’d bought celebratory cakes from the same patisserie that father passed by after work. But at the dorm, Omi celebrated birthdays with chocolate cake, tiramisu, carrot cake, fruit pies, ice cream cake, flan, baked meringue - of course, he cared when his friends and company members heralded another year around the sun, but the cakes were a definite perk. 

“Happy birthday, Misumi,” Omi said, bringing a pyramid of hand-sized lemon pies to the table. Misumi’s eyes positively sparkled, lost in a moment of complete adoration over the beautiful yellow obelisk. Summer Troupe quickly distributed the pies among themselves before the rest of the Company stepped forward to help celebrate. Omi was beaming, as bright as the pies themselves; Juza was caught between the sweet citrus in his mouth and looking at Omi. 

“You really outdid yourself,” Izumi said, standing back politely to let the children eat first. It was unspoken that the Company Director would never be without; Juza was sure Omi had some extra pies saved in the kitchen for her and for anyone else who didn’t get a chance to try the lemon pie tower. 

“It was fun. Lemon tea is a great summer drink. And it was nice to have...well, nothing to do for once. The weeks leading up to graduation are pretty nice before it’s time to be a real grown-up.” 

“Right? You’re fortunate to have found a job right after, as well. Are you looking forward to starting?”

“Hmm.” Omi scratched his chin, his fingers sliding over his scar. “I can’t say I’m not excited to be doing something new. Not going to class and not studying...but I’ll definitely be busier. That’s just how it is, I suppose.”

The gears spun in Juza’s head. Omi was gainfully employed; he joined the ranks of the adults waking up early and putting on suits and going to an office for at least eight hours. He didn’t really know what that was like, but from watching Itaru, it seemed to be an exhausting life. If Omi was working full-time, that meant he had less time between classes to prepare much more than dinner occasionally. “So you won’t have much time for birthdays anymore?” Juza found himself asking. Omi and Izumi turned to him, and he pressed his lips together. This was an adult conversation and he’d rudely interjected. 

“Well...I wish I could say for certain I would but I can’t be sure. But I’ll do my best to make sure the birthday person gets their favorite snacks!”

“Don’t worry, Juza,” Izumi assured him. “There’ll always be curry bread.” 

Juza stared at the dwindling lemon pie tower. This could be the last birthday sweet monument for the dorm. He looked at Tenma, casually playing off his gift to Misumi. Tenma was often busy, but he did make time to come home on his birthday, as his parents had equally unpredictable schedules. Tenma was his important underclassman and friend and someone who had talent to share with the Company. He wouldn’t show it, but he would be sad without a cake on his birthday. 

Two weeks later, Juza collected all his supplies and rolled up his sleeves. 

Tenma took in the shape in front of him. Behind the roasted pork skewers and beef buns, there was a lopsided, cream-covered lump. Finally, he registered it as a cake; it was a bit uneven and the frosting was bumpy, but it had the same shape and size as a cake. “Did you make this, Juza-san?” he asked. 

“It’s strawberry cake,” Juza said. 

“Wow! I love the strawberry flowers on top,” Muku admired. 

“They’re fireworks!” Kumon insisted. It was hard to keep his baking a secret from his brother, but Kumon had been helpful in carefully washing and slicing the strawberries. Until he made a cake from start to finish, Juza had no idea that it took so long to make one. He supposed Omi had so much practice that he could make a simple cake in only a few hours. “Omi’s working on a project so he wouldn’t be home on time.” He hadn’t wanted to ask Omi for help, as he didn’t want Omi to feel guilty for not having time to make a cake, but Omi was an expert and making a terrible cake would only burden Omi even more. Omi had sent him several recipes and several more websites with baking tips; Juza had Tasuku, who had worked in a bakery part-time before, come and give advice. 

Tenma made a face. Juza had eaten enough lunches and walked home with him long enough to know it was an expression attempting to restrain looking pleased. “Er. It looks...good. T-thank you.” 

“An upperclassman’s got to look after their underclassmen,” Kazunari said. 

Juza recruited Muku to help with Yuki’s cake next. He’d wanted to draw clothes, but he hadn’t gone to art school like Kazunari and Banri; they settled for bears made of macarons. Juza went home for Kumon’s cake, to keep it more of a surprise. His mother helped carry the giant baseball back to the dorm. The baseball’s stitching was a little uneven, but Juza was proud of how round he’d gotten the cake. 

For Kazunari’s birthday, he made homemade caramels and stained glass cookies of every color hard candy he could get at the shop (and he made sure to tell the clerk that he was getting the candy for a birthday recipe, though he suspected she only nodded to be polite. She’d seen him for sure staring into the window before). For Muku’s cake, he’d gotten bars of every kind of chocolate and everyone could only have a small slice because it was so rich. By the time Banri’s birthday rolled around, Juza’s sculpting skills had gotten better, so his cakes were a bit smoother and prettier, but the thought of Banri lording over the cake put a bitter taste in his mouth. “It’s a naked cake,” Juza said, when Banri scowled. Making a bad cake would suit Banri the most, but he’d taken on the mantle as birthday cake maker and it wouldn’t look good on him to half-ass the process. 

“I hate you,” Banri said, but he ate the cake and managed to say only one bad thing about it. 

On his birthday, Juza woke up to find that Muku and Kumon had gotten up early to make custard bread from scratch. Filling his bag with three buns for the day, they sent him on his way with promises that they would rally the rest of the troupes for dinner. Tenma, Taichi, and Tsuzuru took him out for lunch between classes. Tsuzuru had a part-time job after his last class, but Taichi and Tenma promised to take him to a new ice cream shop near campus after Tenma was finished with statistics. 

“Okay,” Juza said, feeling touched that the Ouka High spirit hadn’t diminished even after they’d graduated. “But I need to stop by the grocery store after. We’re out of flour.”

Tenma and Taichi looked at each other. “Tsumugi-san’s doing a grocery run today,” Taichi said. 

“Yes, but there’s a special brand of flour I’ve found works best for cakes.” 

“You...you’re going to make your own birthday cake?” Tenma said. 

“Yes…” Tenma and Taichi were looking at him worriedly. “I can’t burden Muku and Kumon with a cake on top of dinner. I can’t stop them if they want to cook, but I made them promise not to make a cake. They’ve got homework to do too.” 

The first years looked at each other again. “Um,” Taichi said. “I guess we can make a stop along the way.” 

The ice cream shop had new flavors Juza had never tried before. He got a sprinkling of honeycomb on top for texture. The younger boys followed him into the store afterwards, Tenma still diligently working on his cone. He tended to take his time on treats, as if he had never eaten them before; even in high school, he savored his after-school snacks in a way that made Juza impressed. He had resolved to eat slowly too to really appreciate the taste. Taichi trailed behind, staring at his phone now and then. 

“Okay, let’s go home,” Juza said, a sack of flour heavy in his arm. He was thinking about a triple berry cake. He’d been thinking about it since he saw it in a magazine that Omi had left out on the living room table; it would take some time to put it together, so he wanted to get a headstart. Muku and Kumon would surely enjoy cooking all together too. 

“Wait!” Taichi said. “Let’s take a stop over at the bookstore first!” 

“I thought you said you went there with Rurikawa two days ago.” Taichi’s mouth popped open and closed. 

“T-Ten-chan, don’t you need to buy a book?”

Juza frowned. Taichi was still waving his phone about. “Don’t tell me Kumon and Muku are making a cake right now.” Taichi started waving his arms around a little bit more frantically. “I told them not to.” 

“No! No, they’re not. But...we can’t go home yet.” Taichi hung his head. “I can’t tell you why. But let’s go to the bookstore, okay?”

Juza looked at the cookbooks and made mental notes about which ones he should save up for. His mother might offer to buy one for his birthday; he and Kumon were going home over the weekend, so he might ask her for the Japanese confections one then. Taichi and Tenma were at the magazines, though Taichi kept looking over at him with a guilty look on his face. Taichi was honest, so keeping secrets was hard for him. Juza felt bad; it was his birthday, so Taichi was keeping a secret for his sake. He decided he’d give Taichi an extra large slice of his cake once he finally got around to making it. Finally, Taichi came over, still sheepish. “Okay, we can go home now.” 

In the foyer, as they were taking off their shoes, Juza could smell something sweet among the smells of dinner being prepared. Kumon and Muku’s voices carried from the kitchen, along with Izumi’s. Had the Director decided to make him a cake instead? Just like the high schoolers, she was busy too, working on other theater productions along with the Company’s. He didn’t mind making his own birthday cake, so it pained him to know she had taken time out of her day. He’d make sure her birthday cake came out perfect. 

But when he came around the corner to the kitchen, it was Omi standing at the dinner table with a bowl of berries in his hand and a piping bag on a dish. In front of him was a triple berry cake, if the berry decorations on top were any indication. “Welcome home,” Omi greeted them. Juza found himself speechless. “I know you’ve been working hard as my successor making cakes, so it would only make sense that I make yours, right? I just finished a project and have some overtime to make up, so I took off early. I told Taichi to hold you off so it could be a surprise.” He smiled, looking like the baking angel he was. “Happy birthday!”

The triple berry cake was glossy and beautiful. Juza felt, again, that he was a happy boy.

**Author's Note:**

> This really turned into a Juza celebration. Omi graduating made me think about how the dorm's cooking schedule had to have changed since he would be regularly out until the evening. Juza making ugly cakes is so moe.


End file.
